Safety attachment for vehicle-thills



(No Model.) I v G. DIPPOLD.; SAFETY ATTACHMENT PORVEHICLE THILLS.

No. 491,81122. Patented f'eb; 14, 1893.

I IV .ziiiorney STATES PATENT GEORG DIPPOLD, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 491,838, dated February14, 1893.

Application filed July 20, 1892. Serial 110.440.61 1. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.- a

Be it known that I, GEORG DIPPOLD,a citizen of the United States,residing at thecity of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in SafetyAttachments for Thills; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appcrtains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to an improved device for vehicle shafts as apreventive against the horse or team running awayand it consists in thecombination with the shaft of means for hampering the movement of thehorse or animal and which is adapted to be applied by the driver at theseat, all substantially as hereinafter more fully disclosed, and

pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a broken perspective view of avehicle or wagon including the shafts, embodying my invention; Figs. 2and 3 are detailed views thereof, and Fig. 4 is a detailed side view ofa modification of the same.

In the embodiment of my invention, I provide the usual shafts A, at theouter ends, with a forward cross-bar or frame B having its side piecesor arms 5 pivoted near their inner upper-edge beveled ends, as at b, tosaid shafts, the meeting portions of which may be halved together asshown. The frame or bar B is held in its normal position in alignmentwith the shafts by flat or plate springs a, secured at their inner endsto the shafts and resting upon the beveled upper edges of the arms orside-pieces b of said frame or bar. The cross-bar of the frame B isreadily removable from the side-pieces or arms I), being held inmortises or sockets b in the latter by headed pins 17 Arranged inbrackets or keepers d secured to the underside of the shafts A, near therear ends thereof is a cross-bar O secured near its ends to the forwardends of springs e, the rear ends of the latter being suitably secured tothe shafts or appendages thereof as shown.

D is a hand lever convenient to the driver and suitably fulcrumed uponthe side of the vehicle-body, and having a pawl and ratchet connection dd with said body, and D is a second lever pivoted to the underside ofthe vehicle body floor, and adapted to receive at one end the lower endof. said hand-lever. The opposite end of the lever D'has extendingforward therefrom a line or cable f branching off into two other lines ff passing over pulleys on the axle, and connected to the cross bar orframe B and themselves having branch lines f passing over pulleys 72,depending from the shaft, said branch-lines f then passing throughapertures in the keepers d and finally secured to the cross-bar O. Fromthis arrangement, it will be seen that. in case of an emergency bymoving the handlever D backward the lines or cables f f will be drawnupon so as to cause the downward deflection of the cross-bar B and themoving forward of the bar 0 bringing said bars against the front andrear legs of the horse, respectively, which would have the effect tohamper the movement of the horse and thus act as a preventive againsthis run- 75 ning away. The disengagement of the pawl d of the lever Dfrom its ratchet d will permit the springs c, c, to automaticallyrestore the frame or bar B and bar 0 to their normal positions, takingthem out of contact with the legs of the horse and permitting him totravel unhampered having been brought under control by the previousaction of the parts.

As shown in Fig. i a spring 0' may be also applied to the underside ofeach shaft to act upon each side-piece or arm of the frame 13 to assistthe automatic return of the frame to its normal position.

Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, isz- 1. In a vehicle, the combination with theshafts or means for hitching the horse to the vehicle, of the front andrear cross bars connected thereto to be moved toward the front and rearlegs of the horse, respectively, and means for operating said bars,substantially as set forth.

2. In a vehicle, the combination, with the too shafts of the frontcross-bar er frame hav- In testimony whereof I affix my signature in ingspring-pressed arms or side pieces pivpresence of two witnesses. oted tothe shafts, the rear springseated crossbar, the lines or cablesconnected to said cross- GEORG DIPPOLD. bars and passed over pulleys,and a hand- Witnesses:

lever connected to said lines, substantially as FRED O. I-IELLMUTH,

set forth.

CHAS. F. WEITZEL.

